. >> senator saxby chambliss, ranking member of the intel committee said the nsa learned of the threat but critics of the surveillance program say they have their doubts. >> if you look at the one that's most at issue here, the bulk metadata program there's no indication, unless i'm proved wrong later, that program which collects vast amounts of domestic data, telephone data, contributed to information about this particular plot. >> david ignatius, bring in here quickly, what are you hearing? >> well, i'm hearing from u.s. officials is first, this is al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, affiliate based in yemen, the affiliate that osama bin laden thought had the best chance of really being powerful and causing a long-term threat. the information is vague. it is from intercepts. although it's not, thank goodness, the meta data from the u.s. because there's no evidence of their being contact with somebody in the u.s. to be captured in that metadata. there's a reference in what's been heard to the enemy, not specific, which leads people to think it's probably the u.s., but could also be wes